Prosecutors who tried Erik and Lyle Menendez believe the murderous siblings should remain locked up as their possible release from prison approaches 30 years after the murder of their wealthy parents.
Former Los Angeles County Deputy District Attorney Pamela Bozanich, who prosecuted the murderous brothers in their first trial, does not believe new evidence showing the couple was routinely sexually abused by their father during their childhood would warrant their release from prison justify.
“They killed their parents,” said Bozanich, who expressed doubts about the alleged abuse, told Dateline.
‘They slaughtered their mother. Why should they live among us?”
Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón announced last month that his office is recommending that the two brothers, now in their 50s, be considered for parole after spending more than 30 years behind bars for their parents had been shot in 1989.
He stated that the much-publicized parricides had paid their debt to society and were no longer a threat to society.
If a judge agrees to Gascón’s recommendation next month, the brothers would immediately be eligible for parole under California’s juvenile offender law if they are resentenced.
“Are they trying to get another fast player on the field?” said Juan Mejia, who was a young deputy district attorney during the brother’s second murder trial, according to NBC.
Mejia staunchly opposed the brothers’ release and questioned the legitimacy of the new evidence, explaining how the couple has a history of lying.
The two brothers killed their parents, Jose and Kitty, with a shotgun while watching TV in their Beverly Hills mansion in August 1989.
They were sentenced to life without parole in 1996 for the brutal murders after a highly publicized trial in which Erik and Lyle – then 21 and 18 respectively – were household names.
The brothers’ lawyers argued at trial that they had acted in self-defense after years of sexual and physical abuse at the hands of their father, with testimony supporting other family members’ allegations. Prosecutors argued they were after their parents’ $15 million fortune.
The trial ended in a hung jury in 1994.
A second trial in 1995 ended with the convictions of both brothers on two counts of first-degree murder after a judge ruled that the jury could not hear most of the testimony about the alleged sexual abuse.
The case largely fell out of the spotlight while the two brothers served time in prison, but a new Netflix series, “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story,” has reignited interest in the brothers and the murders.
